


Rafael Barba’s Google Search History

by FreckledSkittles



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Drabble, M/M, Mike Dodds Lives, POV Outsider, References to Canon, this deserves to be in that tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:56:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26334481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSkittles/pseuds/FreckledSkittles
Summary: Exactly what the title says.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 67





	Rafael Barba’s Google Search History

**Author's Note:**

> Hi sometimes I get anxious and write drabbles, this is one of those times
> 
> Inspired by soleadobarba for the "tweet like Rafael Barba's search history" tweet
> 
> CW for references to canon including death and the death threats subplot at the end of s17

“TARU finally got back to us on Barba’s computer,” Carisi announces. Mike stands and walks over to the conference room, which he has made his temporary office for the morning. Olivia had a doctor’s appointment with Noah and wouldn’t be in until the afternoon. It didn’t feel right to use her office, no matter how many times she assured him otherwise, so when he needed some quiet as the second-in-command, he went to the conference room.

Carisi hands over a folder with two separate stapled packets: the first is general internet history, and the other is specific Google searches. TARU had recommended keeping a separate record of both to better scope out what they were looking for. ADA Barba had been threatened since before Mike was part of the squad, and it was about time they found out who was behind it. Anything that could possibly be used against him was valuable.

“This is all of his internet access?” Mike asks, flipping through the internet history first.

“For Manhattan,” Carisi states. “There are some app usages they’re compiling, along with every file he’s worked on since transferring, but we’re still waiting to see what Brooklyn can give us.”

Mike nods. It was enough for now. “Good work, Carisi.” He catches the shift in Carisi’s stance at the praise; he had been thoroughly invested in this case since he was debriefed on it for the first time. Mike had wondered if it was related to something deeper, perhaps the fondness of a student for a mentor, but there was nothing concrete. Mike looks over at Rollins and Fin, both with their own copies of TARU’s report. “We’ll start looking through the internet history for anything suspicious. Go through the Google searches when you finish up.”

“On it, Sarge,” Fin replies. Rollins is already digging into the file. Carisi nods and returns to his desk in a hurry, the file already open and his eyes already roving the page as he sits down.

Mike returns to the conference table, closing the door a bit more to signify privacy but staying open in case anyone needs to talk to a ranked officer. The internet history is standard for an ADA or a state employee—government sites, some online journals, news articles, and the like. Nothing sticks out from what Mike can tell. He uses a highlighter to emphasize the ones he doesn’t recognize or can’t place.

The Google search history is a different story. Generally, on the surface, it doesn’t look too suspicious. Mike starts from the beginning of Barba’s stint in Manhattan.

_manhattan apartments_   
_how to impress new coworkers_   
_different ways to use a belt_   
_how to make stronger coffee_   
_suffolk county da’s office_   
_how to convince people you’re not dating your rival_   
_christmas gifts for women with high standards_   
_best gifts for teachers_   
_what to wear on a yacht_   
_grief counseling for losing a childhood friend_   
_home remedies for migraines_   
_strongest coffee_   
_fancy dinner places to take a woman with high standards_   
_how to make babies happy_   
_fordham law night school_   
_70s mustaches_   
_are mustaches gay_   
_sample complaint letter against a judge_   
_slender man_   
_what is creepypasta_

“And TARU said this is useful how?” Mike hears Rollins ask. Carisi must have given a non-verbal answer, because Rollins is heard mumbling “damn, sorry” a few seconds later.

Mike continues, taking note of the ones that stick out the most to him.

_can you forgive the dead_   
_how to make coffee stronger_   
_can too much coffee kill you_   
_can you rent tracksuits_   
_am i attracted to my coworker_   
_how to impress a younger man_   
_how to impress a younger gay man_   
_gay or straight_   
_how to tell someone is gay without stereotypes_   
_ny bar exam_   
_nys policy on personal relationships_   
_how to make the strongest coffee_   
_how to date after a while of not dating_   
_how to tell you’re not in love_   
_good colors on warm skin tones_   
_when to put your family members in a retirement home_   
_family grief counseling for losing a grandparent_   
_best songs about cuba_   
_cuban folk songs on repeat_   
_good cuban restaurants near me_

“You notice the stuff about Cuba?”

“He’s Cuban, Rollins. What, you wanna investigate him for being Cuban now?!”

“Jesus Christ, no! What’s your problem, Sonny?”

_cuban italian fusions_   
_how to be good with kids_   
_good colors to wear around infants_   
_how to say i love you without saying anything_   
_good cuban restaurants in california_   
_gifts to get someone when you’re gloating_   
_how to forgive your friend for defending a serial killer_   
_police brutality statistics in the us_   
_black lives matter nyc donations_   
_what to give at a baby shower_   
_nepotism nypd_

“You see the one about nepotism yet?” Fin asks.

Mike rolls his eyes. They’re all lucky they got the nepotism jokes out of the way months ago. “Very funny.”

_baker’s dozen tv show_   
_fordham law school_   
_nys bar exam study book_   
_do i have a crush_   
_how to tell if a crush is mutual_   
_student-mentor relations dating_   
_how to be subtle about your crush_   
_how old is too old to have a crush on someone_   
_business attire that sends a message_   
_can coffee cure migraines_   
_is it ethical to hook up two coworkers_   
_how to be a better catholic_   
_good ways of distracting yourself_   
_how to stop overthinking_   
_congrats on passing the bar gifts_   
_nys bar results_   
_florists near me_   
_good date locations manhattan_   
_color symbolism_   
_confessing a crush_   
_easy italian recipes to cook at home_   
_cooking tutorials_   
_colors that go well with cornflower_   
_colors that go well with blue_

Mike stops reading when he hears the familiar signs of Rafael Barba entering the squad room. He picks up on the desk sergeant guiding him to the conference room. Mike closes the file and stands to greet Barba and the tall officer assigned to his security behind him. Mike greets both of them and offers them a seat; Barba sits parallel to him, but the officer takes her place at the door, standing under the frame and looking between the conference room and the bullpen.

“Snooping around my internet history?” Barba teases. The only way he’s treated the death threats against him has been with jeering retorts laced with sarcasm. Mike has treated them just as Olivia advised them: play along if you need to but tread carefully. It’s nothing but a defense mechanism and they should treat the situation just like they would in any other case.

“We started to,” Mike states. “We’ve divided your activity into different categories. Right now, we have your search engine history and the websites you’ve used in Manhattan.”

Barba’s brows furrow together. “Are you going through my Brooklyn history too? I barely used the internet when I worked there.”

“Even so, we wanna cover everything, especially since the threats have been going on for months.”

“I didn’t get these threats in Brooklyn though. Don’t you think it’d make more sense to look at the month they started?”

Mike swallows a scoff and rolls his shoulders. “Did you only prosecute racist cops when you were in Manhattan?”

Barba huffs; his failure to supply a rebuttal to that argument is a clear sign that he concedes. “Do you want my personal internet history as well? I promise there’s nothing defamatory there.”

“Yeah, I saw the nepotism search.” Mike doesn’t look up, checking the list of items they’ve had to search through, but he notices Barba shift under a wave of tension out of the corner of his eye. “We’re also going through every case you’ve worked on where the defendant was a cop, with special emphasis on the ones that went to trial and received a conviction. After we compile the full list and categorize them, we’ll send it over to you so you can check it as well. And we should have your telephone log tomorrow to look for any unsolicited calls. Now,” Mike opens to a clean page on his notepad, “have you received any letters, phone calls, or text messages, or any other material that contains threats, personal attacks, or is in some way aggressive or provocative?”

“Other than the defense attorneys up my ass on how their clients are falsely accused?” Barba jokes. Mike doesn’t comment, just lets the joke slide so that Barba can get it out of his system. It used to get under his skin, when they first took on the case, but a month later, Mike can see it’s the only thing he can do. He won’t even be able to try the case if it ends up going to trial, let alone look at the evidence they’ve acquired. “Nothing.”

They talk a bit more, Mike asking a few other questions and Barba answering with a quip accompanying his answers in some way, and then they part. Rita Calhoun, his legal representative, will be coming in with him tomorrow; according to Barba, he’s the only person he trusts to take his side. Mike didn’t understand it very much, but Olivia had given him a stare that silenced any comments he may have had. Apparently, Rita Calhoun was on their side, even if Barba didn’t trust the SVU detectives he worked with so often, and even if Rita had been an attorney for the defense throughout the years.

Mike pulls the officer assigned to Barba’s security detail to under her and give her more orders, and to give her a chance to make any observations or comments that she had noticed. She was regularly assigned to Lieutenant Benson, and she had passed Olivia’s own vetting test to supply defenses to Barba. When they finish, Mike watches her return to Barba, who had made a pitstop at Carisi’s desk. Mike thought Barba would have already been waiting for his security detail at the desk sergeant, but it looked like his attention was elsewhere.

In a sudden bout of realization, Mike rushes to the Google search history and scrolls over the most recent listings. He hadn’t put much thought into certain ones, since they didn’t pertain to their investigation, but they make their own story. Mike looks up to watch Barba leave, albeit reluctantly and with a few more comments to spare. Carisi walks with him to the desk sergeant and hesitates before returning to his desk. Mike recognizes the look in his eyes as longing, concern, admiration that is stronger than the type he carried for a mentor.

Mike goes over the list again. The most recent ones that stick out to him are “good ways of distracting yourself” and “how to stop overthinking,” two of which coincide with the dates Carisi spent undercover at the homeless shelter. He can check for accuracy later, but he is more than certain that they will match up. Perhaps the answers Rafael found for those answers can be applied to Sonny.

Or, Mike tells himself, he’ll have the real thing to quell his fears.

**Author's Note:**

> Most of the search results speak for themselves in direct relation to SVU, but a few of them are vague bc I wasn't sure how to reference them:
> 
> -"how to convince people you’re not dating your rival" "christmas gifts for women with high standards" "fancy dinner places to take a woman with high standards" "gifts to get someone when you’re gloating": all of these are about Rita because I love her and I love their relationship please talk to me about it; the first is most definitely a joke he would make when he's around her and the last one is a reference to her defending Rudnick  
> -"is it ethical to hook up two coworkers": remember when Olivia made fun of Rita for defending Rudnick? yeah me too they are definitely dating and Rafael supports it  
> -"how to make babies happy": Bella Carisi is expecting a baby in "Parole Violations" and that's all I have to say about that  
> -"sample complaint letter against a judge": in "Pornstar's Requiem" Rafael says one of his most iconic lines, which is "what you are doing is giving men permission to assault a woman based on her sexual history, You're setting the clock back on rape law 50 years" when the judge overturns the verdict of Evie's trial, in which he swears to appeal, and I imagine he would also file a complaint with the judge  
> -"can you forgive the dead": Rafael's comments to Nick in "Padre Sandunguero" (I imagine Rafael googling it and then immediately closing it)


End file.
